A kitchen worth dying for? Fancy quartz countertops are causing deadly condition ‘black lung’

They’re stylish and extremely durable, making them the go-to choice for kitchen renovators and designers – but quartz countertops come at a deadly price.

Health experts at the University of California, San Francisco, say workers making quartz countertops die at a young age from serious lung disease.

The ominous name “black lung” is caused by the inhalation of tiny dust particles, which leads to tiny cuts in the lungs.

In their study, scientists found 52 cases diagnosed in California over the past 10 years — all in men in their 40s who had been working the countertops for about 15 years. Ten participants died before the end of the study.

Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a pulmonary expert and co-author of the study, said: ‘If we don’t stop now, we will have hundreds if not thousands more cases.

“Even if we stopped it now, we’re going to see these cases in the next 10 years because [silicosis] takes years to develop.’

Cutting quartz stone releases silica dust, which leads to scarring of workers’ lungs, respiratory problems, and the condition silicosis, or “black lung.”

The condition prevents oxygen from being absorbed into the body, leading to a host of health problems, including persistent coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and weight loss.

There is little risk to homeowners, however, because the countertops rarely release dust after installation.

Among the patients in the study was Leobardo Segura-Meza, a Mexican who immigrated to Los Angeles in 2012 and found work as a stone worker.

He cut and polished quartz countertops from the age of 17 for a decade before being diagnosed with silicosis.

The 27-year-old now has to rely on an oxygen tank to survive and can no longer support his wife and three young children. He has been approved for a lung transplant but is still on the waiting list for treatment.

“Every day I hope the phone rings and tells me to come to the hospital and get my new lungs,” he said after being hospitalized with a collapsed lung last month.

He had taken precautions, including wearing a face mask, but this had failed to prevent the silica particles from entering his lungs.

In the study, published today in JAMA networkscientists looked at data from the California Department of Health for silica cases associated with quartz.

They found 52 cases, all among men averaging 45 years old who had been working with quartz countertops for about a decade and a half.

Ten participants died of silicosis during the study, with an average age of 46 years.

Eleven were proposed for a lung transplant, seven of which were rejected – six died – and of the three accepted, two are already dead.

Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary specialist at Olive View-UCLA who was also involved in the study, said: ‘The increasing number of cases of silicosis among stone manufacturers over the past 10 years and the accelerated progression of the disease are transforming the paradigm of an all but previously forgotten disease in the US.

“Our study demonstrates severe morbidity and mortality among a particularly vulnerable group of young, underinsured and likely undocumented Latino immigrant workers.”

Silicosis caused concern in the United States in the 20th century when it was repeatedly diagnosed in miners who had inhaled dust from the stones they were excavating.

Cases have since declined as mining became mechanized, but scientists now fear the disease could return among stoneworkers.

The first U.S. case of engineered stone-related silicosis was identified in Texas in 2015, and more cases have been reported since then. California is at the epicenter of the upswing.

Quartz countertops are made from a type of manufactured stone formed from crushed quartz crystals bonded together with resin.

During the manufacturing process, the quartz releases silica dust that can be inhaled by workers and go deep into their lungs.

This leads to scarring and inflammation, which damages tissue and makes it less able to absorb oxygen from the air.

The damage causes silicosis, or “black lung,” in which the lungs are so damaged that they can no longer take in enough oxygen for the body. The disease takes its name from the mining industry where it was first reported in workers with ‘black’ lungs.

Patients diagnosed with the disease have little choice but to rely on an oxygen machine while they wait for a lung transplant. The damage is irreversible.

An estimated 100,000 people in the United States are at risk because they work as stone manufacturers.

An Australian government screening program found a silicosis rate of 19.5 percent among 1,053 workers screened for the disease.

A report released this year by California safety officials found that between 2019 and 2020, about 72 percent of the state’s 800 stone-maker warehouses were “probably non-compliant with the existing silica standard.”

The state has now voted to accelerate new regulations for the production of quartz countertops.